Can You Help Me Fight My OCD?

S. - no I do not wash my hands after putting my panties on. My body has just been cleaned and my panties are clean.

You can do this, hang in there, just take it one step and one day at a time.

I wash my hands when I wake up, after I go to the bathroom, before and after I eat, after make-up, and periodically through the day about 30 times, but then again, I work in a nursing home (not directly with patients) but germs spread like mad around here so I am always washing.

Make sure you are using a gentle cleanser, not a rough or anti-bacterial soap. Anti-bacterials are good for removing the heavy germs, but they also remove your good bacteria and sometimes make you sicker!
Dove soap is great if you wash alot, is softens your skin and does not dry your skin out.

Good luck... I know the feeling, I have been working on my OCD for 3 years now and it takes alot of work!

I don't wash my hands before I put my makeup on, but I do before I put my contacts in...............and after I put my make up on........

If they are not dirty......and your not messing with food or small kids, then don't wash them..........I know, that's easier said than done...........

You can do this!!!! I know you can.......hang in there and just stop and think before you automatically do anything...........You will win!!!

Take care.

Hi S.. I salute you. You are an amazing and brave person. I know from related experience the path is challenging, and I again, I applaud you for asking the above question. It is part of the path.

I wash my hands after putting on make up, after putting on any skin medication (acne etc), after changing diapers, after eating, after playing outside with my LO. I think after you get dressed, you may not need to wash your hands before putting on make up. Can you do that and feel comfortable? I found a way to decrease is to first put like the tiniest drop of soap and wash. Next few days, no soap only water. Next few days, only dry in a towel. Later, wipe your hands on pants. Later, no need to wash at all. Does that make sense?

In addition, I agree with the below post about using a mild soap. I use Cetaphil (there is a cheaper generic or store brand if necessary).

Moreover, continue to be kind and gentle with yourself, as you seem to be.

Much support and blessings your way.

Jilly

It's OK! Continue with the hair, make up etc. no need to wash hands after putting on panties, your panties are clean. Keep up the good work!

Hi S.,
In my humble opinion a typical shower would be 5-10 minutes. I wash my hands after going to the bathroom, after cleaning up after the dog's potty stops, and before eating or working with food. In the winter when it is flu season I am a bit more careful and wash my hands each time I return to the house after shopping or being in public.

Again.......in my humble opinion......a little OCD isn't necessarily a bad thing. You have to be a little anal to be successful at most things. HOWEVER, if you are so rigid that it is negatively affecting your life.......then it's something worth working on.

I'm not diagnosed as OCD, but I have very strong compulsions and very particular about order as well. For this situation, it depends where you are. I cannot get dressed in the bathroom if it is steamy from the shower, because I would have to keep washing my face.

I go into our room after drying off very well, and get totally dressed. Then, I usually go and re-rinse off my face, and dry my hair. Before I start on my make-up, I wash my hands and face and then do my makeup. Then, I put the final products on my hair.

This is so that the hair products on my hands won't get on my face since I tend to break out easily. Since I'm a hair stylist, I work with hair products a lot and they don't always get off your hands after simple washing. So, just remember, wash them before putting on your make-up so they are clean for your face, and wash them after styling your hair to get the product off. No need to wash while getting dressed.

I hope that helps. It's good to get in a routine that works. If you remember that you don't always need to wash your hands when doing routine things. Other times during the day is before eating or preparing food, after visiting the bathroom, or cleaning, or anything where they get dirty. I know it's tough, but sounds like you are making progress.

Hi S. :) I hope all these answers were helpful to you. I have a son who also has OCD. It's very difficult sometimes to deal with it, but we work through it. I hate having anything on my hands or face, so i'm constantly washing or wiping them. I do not wash my hands after putting on my panties. I get out of the shower and get totally dressed, then I get ready.
Everyone has their own routine, and if it makes you feel better to wash your hands after putting them on, then go at it!!! But, if you don't think it's normal, and want to stop washing them, then that's ok too!
I give you credit for wanting to get help...I hope everything turns out good for yoy...keep up the good work :)

Hi S.,

I've never been diagnosed OCD but my daughters tell me I have CDO because I would alphabetize it, lol. I wash my hands a lot. My mom did too. I think we knew about germs long before the "every employee is required to wash hands" signs were ever in place. A little of this behavior is absolutely fine. To answer your question, I wash my hands before I put on makeup. The reason for that is that the germs from your hands can get into a makeup bottle, etc and contaminate it. Germs grow and breed. I want that stuff to stay clean until it is used up. I wash my hands after so I don't get the makeup on anything. The reason for what my family calls my compulsiveness is mainly to protect what we have worked hard for. We work hard for what we have and I don't want to spend more money on replacing or cleaning something that could have easily been taken care of. I also don't want people getting sick when there is no need to....washing hands prevents a lot of that.

My question to you is why do you see a problem with what you are doing? Does it upset you when your routine is changed? When it interferes with life is when you really need to worry about it. If it's doing that or upsetting the rest of your home, then you need to examine what you do AND why you do it and make boundaries for your behavior. Talk to your family and see if there are compromises you can make for them and in turn see if they can accept some of the things that they think are over the top.

God bless!

M.

Congratulations! One step at a time, you're making progress!

If you don't do anything or very little between the time you are fully dressed and putting on makeup, no need to wash your hands. After I put on my makeup, sometimes I'll wash my hands if I get makeup on them... not for the germs, but because I don't want to get the makeup on my clothing or anything else.

I'm not sure what ERP refers to but I hope it is something that helps. I stay in the shower a long time only because I love the nice warm feeling and the water itself. I'm the zodiac water sign Pieces so I naturally enjoy the water. I wash my hands after using the bathroom, before putting in my contacts, before preparing food for other people, after I changed the babies diapers, and after I clean the cat litter box or after I clean up a cat/dog mess. Sometimes, after playing sports I'm so hungry, I will get something to eat and not wash my hands before. I haven't been extremely sick, normal cold/flu, and I'm still living. A little dirt and germs are good for the immune system. Keep up with the ERP and I'm sending you prayers that you will continue to make great progress with your OCD.
V.

First of all, S., congrats on your efforts to change and make your life more manageable. I don't have OCD, so I can only imagine your struggle. Be kind to yourself. Take care of yourself and make it about focusing on the next decision....the future will take care of itself.

When I get up in the morning, I brush my teeth while the shower is warming up. I spend about 10 minutes in the shower. When I get out, I dry off, put in my contacts. I put on facial moisturizer and deoderant and then I get dressed....giving my moisturizer time to sink in. Then I put on my makeup. I won't wash my hands again until I go to the bathroom later in the morning. I carry wipes in my car in case I should get something sticky on my hands. I don't like sticky hands.

Anyway, I hope this helps a little bit. Good luck to you.

I don't have this but can't stand the feeling of having dirty or sticky hands. A book I read, "The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History" by Katherine Ashenburg was a real eye opener for me. You'll learn how excessive cleaning is a modern habit and how for hundreds of years, getting clean was considered unhealthy. Some kings even bathed only once or twice in their lifetimes to avoid getting sick.

I wonder if music can help, if you like to sing. But back to your question...I wake up, wash my face, brush teeth, take shower, wipe, dress up all, sometimes ironing in between for the final touch up, and do the make up. Only then I wash my hands again the second time in the kitchen to prep something. Unless in between dressing up and make up I picked my nose :)

I wash my hands when I feel - something sticky, I can see discolouring like dirt or face powder or even flour, palm sweating, gritty, or something smelly
I wash my hands after - I wake up, eating, doing stuff in toilet, coming home
I wash my hands before - I sleep, eating, washing my face, prep food for myself or family or milk for daughter

I think cleaning your hands has usually become a routine that it felt like it comes from the subconscious. It may help to make a new routine (consciously) for omitting to clean. What you are doing now is GREAT! So keep it up!

As for music, I just want to suggest that you can sing a song. For example, decide you will sing just 1 song for washing a face and brushing teeth. Then immediately think of another song to sing in the shower. Sing one for first shower, repeat second for lathering and slathering soap, and repeat third for washing off. Before the third is over, try to change to another song to dry up and out of the bathroom. Say to yourself something like, "when the song is over, I'm going to close the shower and dry up," and your brain will likely follow that 'verbal' instruction. Next, you can say, "After drying up, I'm going to put on this this and this." It's like organizing back your life and daily routine but in your head, or verbally out loud if you want. It may help distract your mind from thinking, "am I still clean? Do I need to do this longer? etc". I don't know if it can help, but it's just a suggestion.

:) I helped a friend with this when I was back in Uni. But she was also seeing a therapist.

I helped raise a grandson with OCD. He is on meds and doing very well at age 25. Since so much of what you do is habit, changing those habits to normal and reassuring yourself that everything is OK can make a big difference. I would venture to guess that no one who doesn't have OCD would wash their hands while dressing! It makes no sense - after using the toilet, yes. After putting on clothing, no reason at all to wash. You are clean and it's your body. Nothing can happen from putting on clothing, believe me! You are wise to see how others do things. Because this runs in families, what you learned/saw as a child may've led you to believe that some behaviors are done by everyone when they're really over the top. Your own anxiety isses are something only you can work on, with help from professionals, but changing to a normal way of life is the direction to head. It may take a lot of time but the time's going to pass anyway. You'll be happier and more acceptable to others the more you can adapt to the world around you. A support group would be a good thing for you. Sometimes there are conferences or speakers that will help you see what's really going on. Self-talk is very valuable. You go, Girl! You can do this! Not easy, but you can make big improvements if you're motivated.